U.S. patent number 10,121,171 [Application Number 14/575,843] was granted by the patent office on 2018-11-06 for component-level rating system and method.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Amazon Technologies, Inc.. The grantee listed for this patent is Amazon Technologies, Inc.. Invention is credited to Brian Chang, Min Chong, Adam Brent Johnson, John Riley Lynch, Llewellyn James Mason, Francisco Jose Peredo Noguez.
United States Patent |
10,121,171 |
Chang , et al. |
November 6, 2018 |
Component-level rating system and method
Abstract
Methods, devices and program products are provided which
comprise the under control of one or more computer systems
configured with specific executable instructions. The methods,
devices and program products provide an image of an item for
display, and the item is comprised of a plurality of components.
The methods, devices and program products receive a selection of a
component of interest from the plurality of components of the item,
and obtain a component-level rating associated with the component
of interest.
Inventors: |
Chang; Brian (Seattle, WA),
Chong; Min (Kirkland, WA), Johnson; Adam Brent (Seattle,
WA), Lynch; John Riley (Seattle, WA), Mason; Llewellyn
James (Seattle, WA), Peredo Noguez; Francisco Jose
(Seattle, WA) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Amazon Technologies, Inc. |
Reno |
NV |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Amazon Technologies, Inc.
(Seattle, WA)
|
Family
ID: |
63963918 |
Appl.
No.: |
14/575,843 |
Filed: |
December 18, 2014 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q
30/0643 (20130101); G06K 9/2081 (20130101); G06Q
30/0282 (20130101); H04L 67/10 (20130101); G06T
11/60 (20130101); G06T 2200/24 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G06Q
30/06 (20120101); G06Q 30/02 (20120101); G06T
11/60 (20060101); G06K 9/20 (20060101); H04L
29/08 (20060101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Beausoliel, Jr.; Robert W
Assistant Examiner: Khakhar; Nirav K
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Knobbe, Martens, Olson & Bear,
LLP
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A computer process, comprising: outputting for display, on a
user device, an interactive electronic catalog page that includes
an image of a physical product; maintaining, in computer storage,
image mapping data that maps particular regions of the image to
respective component identifiers of components of the physical
product, each of the components being separately reviewable by
electronic catalog users; in response to user interaction with the
electronic catalog page on the user device, updating a display of
the electronic catalog page to include a plurality of region
identifiers on the image, each region identifier identifying a
respective one of the particular regions of the image, each region
being individually selectable on the electronic catalog page to
select the corresponding, separately reviewable component of the
physical product; detecting a user selection, on the interactive
electronic catalog page, of one of the particular regions of the
image; determining, from the image mapping data, a component
identifier corresponding to the selected region of the image, said
component identifier identifying a component selected by the user;
updating a display of the interactive electronic catalog page with
a display of user-submitted reviews that are specific to the
selected component; and providing a user option, in connection with
the selection of the component, to submit a review that is specific
to the selected component; said process performed under control of
executable program code.
2. The computer process of claim 1, wherein the region identifiers
include respective boxes positioned on the image to indicate
locations in the image of respective components.
3. The computer process of claim 2, wherein the boxes are partially
transparent.
4. The computer process of claim 2, further comprising, for at
least a first of the boxes, displaying on the image a graphical
indication of an average user rating of a corresponding
component.
5. The computer process of claim 1, further comprising, for at
least a first region identifier of the plurality of region
identifiers, displaying on the image a graphical indication of an
average user rating of a corresponding component.
6. The computer process of claim 1, further comprising displaying
on the image a translucent rating map indicating, for at least some
of the components that are separately reviewable, respective
average user ratings of the components.
7. The computer process of claim 1, wherein the user interaction
with the electronic catalog page comprises movement of a cursor
over the image.
8. The computer process of claim 1, wherein the region identifiers
are displayed at least partly by modifying display sizes of
corresponding components within the image.
9. The computer process of claim 1, wherein updating a display of
the electronic catalog page to include the plurality of region
identifiers comprises executing a script on the user device.
10. The computer process of claim 1, further comprising, in
response to a shape drawing action performed by the user on the
image, defining a new region for a component corresponding to the
shape drawing action.
11. A computing system comprising a server having a processor and a
memory, the computing system programmed with executable program
code to perform a process that comprises: generating an interactive
electronic catalog page that includes an image of a physical
product; maintaining, in computer storage, image mapping data that
maps particular regions of the image to respective component
identifiers of components of the physical product, each of the
components being separately reviewable by electronic catalog users;
in response to user interaction with the electronic catalog page on
a user device, updating a display of the electronic catalog page to
include a plurality of region identifiers on the image, each region
identifier identifying a respective one of the particular regions
of the image, each region being individually selectable on the
electronic catalog page to select the corresponding, separately
reviewable component of the physical product; detecting a user
selection, on the interactive electronic catalog page, of one of
the particular regions of the image; determining, from the image
mapping data, a component identifier corresponding to the selected
region of the image, said component identifier identifying a
component selected by the user; updating a display of the
interactive electronic catalog page with a display of
user-submitted reviews that are specific to the selected component;
and providing a user option, in connection with the selection of
the component, to submit a review that is specific to the selected
component.
12. The computing system of claim 11, wherein the region
identifiers include respective boxes positioned to indicate
locations in the image of respective components.
13. The computing system of claim 12, wherein the boxes are
partially transparent.
14. The computing system of claim 12, wherein the process further
comprises, for at least a first of the boxes, displaying a
graphical indication of an average user rating of a corresponding
component.
15. The computing system of claim 11, wherein the process further
comprises, for at least a first region identifier of the plurality
of region identifiers, displaying a graphical indication of an
average user rating of a corresponding component.
16. The computing system of claim 11, wherein the process further
comprises displaying on the image a translucent rating map
indicating, for at least some of the components that are separately
reviewable, respective average user ratings of the components.
17. The computing system of claim 11, wherein the user interaction
with the electronic catalog page comprises movement of a cursor
over the image.
18. The computing system of claim 11, wherein the user interaction
with the electronic catalog page comprises a touch event on a touch
screen.
19. The computing system of claim 11, wherein the region
identifiers are displayed at least partly by modifying display
sizes of corresponding components within the image.
20. The computing system of claim 11, wherein updating a display of
the electronic catalog page to include the plurality of region
identifiers comprises executing a script on the user device.
21. The computing system of claim 11, wherein the process further
comprises, in response to a shape drawing action performed on the
image, defining a new region for a component corresponding to the
shape drawing action.
Description
BACKGROUND
An online merchant may provide a number of items for sale to
customers over the Internet. These items may include, but are not
limited to, products, goods, services, digital media, downloadable
music, streaming movies, and the like. Customers may access
information regarding the available items through a website or
other information service provided by the online merchant. The
information regarding the items may include the information needed
by the customer to identify and purchase a particular item, such as
the name and description of the item, the price and availability of
the item, and the like. In order to enhance the online shopping
experience and allow the customer to fully research a particular
item, the online merchant may provide additional item information
along with the purchase information. The additional item
information may include details or technical specifications for the
item, a list of features, and customer reviews of the item.
The customer reviews may allow a potential purchaser to evaluate
what other customers think about the item. The customer reviews
may, for example, include a quantitative rating of the item as well
as free-form comments provided by the customers regarding their
impression of the item, their experience with the item, their
overall satisfaction with the item, and the like.
However, there are many components of an item that separately
contribute to a customer's overall impression or experience with
the item. Heretofore, customers have not been afforded a manner to
provide customer reviews in connection with individual components
of an item purchased or of interest. Further, heretofore, potential
purchasers have not been afforded content review related to
individual components of an item.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The detailed description is described with reference to the
accompanying figures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a
reference number identifies the figure in which the reference
number first appears. The use of the same reference numbers in
different figures indicates similar or identical items.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an example architecture for a
system to enable users to provide and review ratings for individual
discrete components of an item of interest in accordance with
embodiments herein.
FIG. 2 illustrates a computing device configured to capture
information to identify an item or component of interest in
accordance with embodiments herein.
FIG. 3A illustrates an example item page that displays one or more
images of an item in an image window, according to at least some
embodiments.
FIG. 3B illustrates an item page presenting a component level
rating window that includes one or more component level ratings
associated with the component or components within the region
denoted by the region designator in accordance with embodiments
herein.
FIG. 3C illustrates an image page that may be presented in
accordance with various embodiments.
FIG. 3D illustrates an item page that presents component level
ratings in accordance with embodiments herein.
FIG. 3E illustrates an item page that may be presented in
connection with entering component level reviews in accordance with
embodiments herein.
FIG. 4 illustrates an example format for an item record that stores
various information and content in accordance with embodiments
herein.
FIG. 5 illustrates a process for reviewing component level ratings
entered in connection with customer reviews for an item in
accordance with embodiments herein.
FIG. 6 illustrates a more detailed process carried out during the
operation in FIG. 5, to match area designations with rated
components in accordance with embodiments herein.
FIG. 7 illustrates a process for entering customer reviews for
components of interest in accordance with embodiments herein.
FIG. 8 illustrates, in the upper portion, examples of windows from
a user interface that may be presented to the use on a display as
part of the user interface. FIG. 8 also illustrates portions of one
example of an architecture for an item record.
FIG. 9 illustrates a process for displaying rating maps overlaid
with components of interest in accordance with embodiments
herein.
FIG. 10 illustrates an image page with a rating map that may be
presented in accordance with various embodiments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Overview
In accordance with embodiments herein, when a user purchases or
otherwise acquires a product or service, an online service or
system enables the customer to access an online service to enter a
standardized rating, customer reviews and other review content in
connection with the individual components of the product or
service. For example, when a user buys a new laptop, the user may
want to enter a customer review that separately rates the battery
life, the display or other components. For example, the user may
want to rate the battery highly (e.g. five stars), but give the
board a poor rating (e.g. two stars). Further, the user may want to
provide separate text, audio or video comments describing why the
user did not like the keyboard (e.g., because the keys stick in the
down position) or what was positive about the battery life (e.g.
the battery last for several hours even in hot conditions). In
accordance with embodiments herein, the user is no longer limited
to entering a single standardized rating for the overall
product.
The user no longer needs to average out (in their own mind) the
positive and negative aspects of the product to derive an overall
product level rating, and then in addition enter explanatory
comments to step through the positive and negative aspects of the
overall product. In accordance with embodiments herein, one or more
service providers maintain item records associated with the various
items offered in the service providers catalog or elsewhere. The
item records include separate information related to the components
of the item (e.g. the component of a laptop computer may include
the keyboard, display, battery, wireless service, etc.: the
component of a camera may include the lens, user display, battery,
flash, tripod, etc.). Each item record maintains component level
information in connection with each of the components in the item
to enable customers to identify an individual component and enter a
content review related thereto.
The systems, methods and computer readable medium herein also
facilitate entry of the customer reviews for individual discrete
components of interest comprised within an item for purchase or to
be otherwise obtained. By facilitating entry and review of
component level ratings, the methods and systems described herein
allow users to provide more granular feedback as to the pieces of
an item as compared to the traditional techniques that afford
system level ratings of the overall item. Furthermore, by affording
a standardized rating structure at the component level, the
described techniques allow for better communication through
customer reviews, and a better understanding by potential
purchasers, regarding the individual parts, features and other
content that collectively form the item. This level of granularity
contrasts with traditional techniques that simply indicate approval
or disapproval of an item in its entirety.
For example, the techniques described below may allow users to
provide ratings and/or comments regarding individual components. A
central service may aggregate each user rating/comment associated
with each corresponding individual component and then provide
aggregated ratings/comments in connection with each of the
corresponding components when displaying the associated item to
users that subsequently request the item.
In one example, a reviewer may purchase or otherwise become
familiar with an item that comprises one or more components. The
user may select individual components of the item (e.g., individual
parts, features, content, etc.) and may express a rating or provide
a comment for the selected individual component. The rating and/or
comment may include numeric, graphic, text, audio and/or video
content. For example, the user may select a thumbs up icon, a
thumbs down icon, a "like" icon, a "dislike" icon, or may be able
to rate an individual component at a finer level of granularity.
For example, the standardized rating may be based on a scale of 1
to 10. Additionally or alternatively, the techniques described
herein may allow the users to rate individual components from one
star to five stars (where one star denotes strong disapproval and
five stars denote strong approval) or by otherwise rating
individual components on a scale of any other granularity.
Regardless of how the users submit their rating/comment, the
central service may store each rating/comment in association with
the particular component that the user has rated.
In accordance with embodiments herein, the central service may
present the ratings and comments in various manners, such as
graphically, numerically, textually, audibly, tactilely, and the
like. For instance, the service may provide an icon indicating the
rating adjacent to the component, or the indication may be integral
with the image of the component itself (e.g., a rating map). For
instance, the component may be illustrated in various colors (e.g.,
red, yellow, blue, green), indicative of different rating levels or
ranges. Additionally or alternatively, the component may be
illustrated graphically to have an enlarged or reduced size that is
different than a default size, to draw attention to the component
(e.g. when one or more particularly good or bad ratings/reviews are
associated therewith). Additionally or alternatively, text on or
proximate to the component may be presented having a font type or
style that is different than a default font type or style, or the
like, to draw attention to the component. In accordance with
embodiments, once a component of interest is identified, the
component of interest may be presented in a highlighted manner,
while a remainder of the item is dimmed or otherwise
de-emphasized.
It will be readily understood that the components of the
embodiments as generally described and illustrated in the figures
herein, may be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different
configurations in addition to the described example embodiments.
Thus, the following more detailed description of the example
embodiments, as represented in the figures, is not intended to
limit the scope of the embodiments, as claimed, but is merely
representative of example embodiments.
Reference throughout this specification to "some embodiments", "one
embodiment" or "an embodiment" (or the like) means that a
particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in
connection with the embodiment is included in at least one
embodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrases "in one embodiment" or
"in an embodiment" or the like in various places throughout this
specification are not necessarily all referring to the same
embodiment.
Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics
may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.
In the following description, numerous specific details are
provided to give a thorough understanding of embodiments. One
skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the
various embodiments can be practiced without one or more of the
specific details, or with other methods, components, materials,
etc. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or
operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid
obfuscation. The following description is intended only by way of
example, and simply illustrates certain example embodiments.
For purposes of discussion, techniques for facilitating component
level ratings/comments are described in connection with the example
architecture. However, it should be appreciated that the described
techniques may be implemented in multiple other architectures and
environments.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an example architecture 100 for
enabling users 102(1), . . . , 102(M) (collectively 102) operating
respective computing devices 104(1), . . . , 104(M) (collectively
104) to view and provide review content for individual components
of interest that collectively form an item that a user may wish to
purchase or otherwise obtain. In this example, the users 102 are
able to enter or view customer reviews, expressed as
rating/comments, for individual components of items from an
electronic catalog. As described above, however, these techniques
apply to any sort of visual and/or audible content.
Within the architecture 100, the users 102 may operate the
computing devices 104 to access one or more content providers 106
via a network 108. While illustrated as a personal computer and a
personal digital assistant (PDA), the computing devices 104 may be
implemented as any number of other types of computing devices.
These devices may include, for instance, PCs, laptop computers,
PDAs, mobile phones, set-top boxes, game consoles, electronic book
readers, and so forth. The network 108, meanwhile, represents any
one or combination of multiple different types of networks, such as
cable networks, the Internet, private intranets, wireless networks,
and the like. Again, while FIG. 1 illustrates the devices 104
communicating with the content providers 106 over the network 108,
the techniques may apply in any other networked or non-networked
architectures.
One or more servers 110(1), . . . , 110(P) (collectively 110),
perhaps arranged in a cluster or as a server farm, may host the
example content provider 106. Other server architectures may also
be used to host the provider 106. In the illustrated
implementation, the servers 110 are shown to include multiple
modules and components, which may run as software on the web
servers. The illustrated modules may be stored in memory (e.g.,
volatile and/or nonvolatile memory, removable and/or non-removable
media, and the like), which may be implemented in any method or
technology for storage of information, such as computer-readable
instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. The
memory is also referred to as a data store and includes, but is not
limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory
technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical
storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage
or other magnetic storage devices, RAID storage systems, or any
other medium which can be used to store the desired information and
which can be accessed by a computing device. While FIG. 1
illustrates the servers 110 as containing the illustrated modules,
these modules and their corresponding functionality may be spread
amongst multiple other computers, each of whom may or may not be
related to the content provider 106.
In some instances, the content provider 106 comprises a site (e.g.,
a website) that is capable of handling requests from many users and
serving, in response, various pages (e.g., web pages) that can be
rendered at the computing devices 104. For instance, the site can
be any type of site that supports user interaction, including
online retailers, informational sites, social networking sites,
blog sites, search engine sites, news and entertainment sites, and
so forth. In another example, the content provider 106 provides an
application 124 for the computing devices 104 to download, store,
and run locally. The content provider 106 may additionally or
alternatively interact with the devices 104 or provide content to
the devices 104 in any other way.
In this example, the site of the content provider 106 represents a
merchant website that hosts an item catalog 112 that stores one or
more items 114(1), 114(2), . . . , 114(N) (collectively 114) and/or
information regarding the items 114. An item includes anything that
the merchant wishes to offer for purchase, rental, licensing,
subscription, viewing, informative purposes, or some other form of
consumption. In some embodiments, the item may be offered by the
merchant for consumption. In some other embodiments, the merchant
may host items that others are selling using the merchant's
website. An item can represent a product, a service, a discussion
forum, a digital download, a news clip, user-created content,
information, or some other type of sellable or non-sellable
unit.
While the item catalog 112 may store some items, the catalog 112
may additionally or alternatively store item records. The items
records represent information regarding associated items being
offered for sale or another form of consumption. The item record
may contain a description of an item, two dimensional and/or three
dimensional images of the item, a 3D model of the item,
manufacturer/author/artist names, manufacture/publication data,
pricing, shipping information, and so forth. For other types of
items, the item record may contain additional and/or different
information appropriate for those items. The item records may be
arranged in various formats and are not limited to any particular
file structure. The term record is used broadly herein to refer to
any type of logical connection or link between various data or
information.
An item comprises one or more components that collectively
interconnect, interact or otherwise cooperate to provide the full
functionality of the item. As used herein, the term "component"
includes, but is not limited to, tangible components such as parts
and pieces that are hardware, software, mechanical, structural,
material based or any other tangible or intangible unit that a user
may desire to provide or read a separate customer review in
connection there with. Non-limiting examples of tangible components
are electrical devices, electrical circuits, software, hardware,
mechanical devices, mechanical subsystem, housing assemblies,
materials, accessories and any other single or collection of
physical pieces or part combined to form an item. Non-limiting
examples of intangible components refer to and include appearance,
functions and features offered by an item, such as the appearance,
functions and features of a digital product, a user interface, a
game, a software application, and the like. The term component also
refers to and includes characteristic components that may describe
a result achieved by an item, such as a quality of photographs,
video recording and/or audio recordings. The characteristic
components also include ornamental and aesthetic aspects of an
item, such as the look, touch and feel of the item. The term
component also refers to and includes consumable components such as
substances (e.g. liquids, solids, powders, gases, etc.) that may be
held within, dispensed from or otherwise used with an item. The
foregoing is not to be viewed as an exhaustive list of
components.
A component level review includes ratings and/or comments
associated with a specific select component and may be
dis-associated or unrelated to other components. Particular
non-limiting examples of components and reviews include, but are
not limited to, when a user seeks to buy a new laptop, individual
components may represent the screen, keyboard, battery life, audio
system and the like. Examples of separate reviews may be that the
review for the screen as a component indicates: "The screen quality
is very good", whereas the review for the keyboard as a component
indicates: "The power button sticks and needs to be wiggled before
it will pop up". In accordance with embodiments herein, by
affording component level reviews and ratings, the user is
permitted to search for items, for which certain components are
highly rated. For example, when the user is searching for a new
laptop, the user may want to only review laptops having batteries
with a five-star rating, or laptops for which no component has less
than four stars.
When a user requests an item (or information about an item) from
the content provider 106, the servers 110 retrieve the item
information from the item catalog 112 and serve the information
(e.g., via a web page) to the computing device 104 of the
requesting user. The item catalog 112 may contain static pages that
are pre-generated and stored prior to such requests, and/or may
store data that is used to populate dynamic pages that are
generated in response to such requests. For example, the stored
data may be used to generate tables, window content,
two-dimensional or three-dimensional images, as well as 3D models
that may be rotated and otherwise manipulated by the user to view
the item from various directions and angles and/or to view various
components of interest comprised within the item.
The servers 110 may further store, or have access to, a content
data store 116 that includes one or more discrete pieces of review
content 118. The review content 118 may comprise any sort of
content, such as review content provided in whole or in part by the
users 102. For instance, the review content 118 may include ratings
and/or comments reviewing an item within the item catalog 112, as
well as ratings and/or comments reviewing the individual components
or parts comprised within the item. FIG. 1 illustrates, for
example, an example of a customer review for components of a
bicycle stored in the item catalog 112. For example, one or more
customer reviews may be stored for each of the brake components,
the gear system, the tires, the seat, the handlebars, the colors,
the comfort and the like. The components available to be reviewed
in connection with an item may be determined in various manners.
For example, existing product level (and component level) reviews
may be analyzed (e.g. manually or through automatic text analysis)
to identify comments associated with particular components in the
product/item. When a sufficient number of comments are identified
as discussing a particular component, the corresponding component
may be designated to be made available for separate component level
reviews as explained herein. Additionally or alternatively,
automated processes may perform text analysis of various product
related documents to identify components to be made available for
separate component level reviews. Additionally or alternatively,
item manufacturers and/or distributors may provide a list of
components for which separate component level reviews are believed
of interest to customers.
In the illustrated example, the computing device comprises one or
more processors 120 and memory 122, which stores an application 124
(e.g., a browser, etc.) that communicates with the content provider
106 over the network 108. Here, the user 102(1) requests, and the
content provider 106 serves, a user interface (UI) 126 that
includes the customer reviews 118 of the select bicycle component
that is selected by the user 102(1). For instance, the user 102(1)
may select a particular component of interest to view prior
reviews.
The customer review 118 within the UI 126 may indicate where one or
more other users have expressed a prior rating/comment for
individual components of the item. In the illustrated example, for
instance, the UI 126 illustrates (via bold, italicized,
color-coding, hashed overlay, oversized lettering, highlighting)
that the gear component has received a 5 star approval from one or
more users. Additionally or alternatively, the user may enter
additional rating information associated with the component, such
as text, audio, video, a rating along a standardized scale (e.g., 3
stars, 5 stars, etc.) and the like.
To perform the functionality described immediately above, the
content provider 106 stores or otherwise has access to a component
level review management (CLRM) module 134. While FIG. 1 illustrates
various modules within module 134 being stored on or accessible by
the provider 106, in some instances some or all of the modules may
reside in memory on one or more other entities. For instance, some
or all of the modules may reside on the computing devices 104 in
some instances. Furthermore, in some instances, the modules shown
in the content provider 106 may provide code to the respective
computing devices 104 to perform the respective functionality of
the modules.
The CLRM module 134 performs the various operations described
herein and illustrated in the figures. The CLRM module 134 includes
various modules such as a review selection module 136, an image
manipulation module 138, a review entry module 140 and a rating map
module 142. The modules 134-142 are stored in memory on one or more
servers, on one or more computing devices and elsewhere. In some
embodiments, processors of the servers and/or computing devices
implement the modules 134-142 through software, firmware and the
like. The modules 134-142 may comprise code executable on the
computing device 104(1) and/or the content provider 106.
The review selection module 136 implements the operations described
herein in connection with receiving user input associated with
selecting a component of interest. The review selection module 136
also accesses item records and review content in the image catalog
112 and in the review content data store 116 associated with the
component of interest selected by the user. The image manipulation
module 138 manages presentation of images and other windows on item
pages related to one or more select items on displays of the
computing devices and elsewhere. The image manipulation module 138
also receives user inputs in connection with changing the images to
be displayed. The image manipulation module 138 also receives user
inputs and in response thereto manages rotation, translation and
other manipulation of the images, such as in connection with
selecting components of interest.
The review entry module 140 implements operations described herein
in connection with receiving new review content from a user and
adding such review content to the review content collection
associated with a component. The rating map module 142 implements
operations described herein in connection with overlaying graphical
indicia on one or more images of an item where the graphical
indicia indicate ratings assigned to the various components within
the item. As one example, the rating map module 142 may superimpose
a heat map on an image of an item where regions of the item are
color-coded in connection with ratings assigned to the respective
components.
In some instances, one or more of the modules 136-142 reside on the
computing device 104(1) for execution by the application 124 (e.g.,
as a plug-in to the application 124, which may comprise a browser).
In this and other instances, these components may comprise scripts,
Adobe Flash.RTM. multimedia software, or any other type of code
that may be executed in real time on the client side. For instance,
this code may be implemented in script that detects when the user
102(1) highlights, clicks on or draws a box around a select region
on the image, and in response displays ratings, comments or opens a
rating entry window. While this example describes the
rating/comment as being displayed in response to a user selection,
in other instances, the rating/comment may be output prior to the
selection. Furthermore, while this code may execute on the
computing device 104(1), in other instances the computing device
may make calls to the content provider 106. For instance, the
techniques may be implemented via Asynchronous JavaScript and XML
(AJAX) or via any other client/server protocols.
After the user 102(1) provides a rating to a particular component,
the content provider 106 aggregates this received rating/comment
with other previously-received ratings/comments associated with
this component (e.g., word, sentence, etc.).
FIG. 2 illustrates a computing device 104 that may be utilized to
identify an item or component of interest in accordance with
embodiments herein. The computing device 104 includes a lens 105
that is coupled to a camera unit 107 within the computing device
104. The camera unit 107 may represent an imager and include a
solid state device such as a charge coupled device (CCD), a
complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) detector and the
like. The camera unit 107 captures photographs or video of items or
components of interest that are visible within the field of view of
the lens 105 under the control of a user interface 109 of the
computing device 104. In the example of FIG. 2, the computing
device 104 may be used to scan barcodes 111. The computing device
104 may also take pictures of text 113 naming an item or component
of interest. The computing device 104 may also take pictures or
video of photographs or physical embodiments of an item 115. The
camera unit 107 provides the photos or video to the processor 102
which analyzes the content of the barcode, photos or video to
identify the item or component of interest. The computing device
104 passes an identification of the item or component of interest
to the content providers 106 for further processing in accordance
with embodiments herein. For example, when the computing device 104
passes an identification of an item or component to the content
providers 106, the content providers 106 may return one or more
item pages as discussed herein (e.g. as illustrated in FIGS.
3A-3E).
Optionally, the computing device 104 may be utilized to both
identify an item (e.g., a bicycle 115), as well as display
component level ratings in connection there with. For example, the
user may point a lens 105 of a computing device 104 (e.g. a cell
phone, tablet, etc.) at an item. Optionally, the computing device
104 may internally processes the image to identify the item. The
computing device 104 may convey the image of the item and/or an
identification of the item to a server 110. The computing device
104 may present an image of the item on the user interface of the
computing device 104 and permit the user to select a component of
interest, such as by touching a touch sensitive user interface in
an area associated with a component of interest. The server 110 may
return component level ratings associated with the identified
component, and/or component level ratings associated with each
component within the item. The user may enter and/or review
component level ratings on the user interface of the computing
device 104 as explained herein. As one example, the display of the
computing device 104 may present an image of the item, as well as a
standardized rating (e.g. 1 to 5 stars) next to each component of
the item (such as illustrated in FIG. 3C). As another option, a
rating map may be overlaid upon the image of the item on the user
interface of the computing device 104 (such as illustrated in FIG.
10).
FIGS. 3A-3E graphically illustrate examples of user interfaces that
may be presented by an online merchant's website for display at
computing devices 104 that may include or leverage the component
level content reviews generated as described herein to assist
customers in making decisions when considering products or items
for purchase or to otherwise obtain. Note that the user interfaces
in FIGS. 3A-3E are given by way of example, and are not intended to
be limiting. The component rating and other information generated
as described herein may be used or displayed in other ways and in
other user interface contexts than those shown.
FIG. 3A illustrates an example item page 300 that displays one or
more images 302 of an item in an image window 310, according to at
least some embodiments. When a customer navigates to an item page
300 on an online merchant's website, product/item information 306
may be displayed, for example vendor- or manufacturer-supplied
descriptions, images, pricing information, availability
information, product numbers, ordering information, and so on. In
the example of FIG. 3A, the item 302 represents a bicycle displayed
in an image window 310. The item page 300 may also include various
user interface elements 304 such as menus, buttons, tabs, scroll
bars, hot links, and so on, that may be used for navigation (e.g.,
go to another page), page control (e.g., scroll down), or various
other purposes. The customer may interact with the user interface
elements 304 of the item page 300, for example using a cursor
control device such as a mouse and a keyboard or, on a
touch-enabled device, touch gestures input to a touch screen.
The image window 310 may present one or more images 302 (serially
or concurrently displayed) related to the item of interest. The
image window 310 may present the images 302 as two dimensional
images, three dimensional images, and/or a 3D model of the item.
The images 302 may be manipulated by the user through elements of
the user interface (e.g., keyboard, mouse, touchpad, touchscreen,
audio commands, etc.) of the computing device. For example, the
user may hold a cursor 308 on the image 302 and perform a "click
and drag" operation on a mouse to rotate, translate or otherwise
manipulate the view of the item. For example, when the user desires
to view a back side of the item, the user may click and drag the
cursor 308 to cause a 3D model of the item to rotate 180.degree.
until the backside is displayed. Similarly, elements on the user
interface of the computing device 104 may be used to view the
bottom, top, ends and other portions of an item of interest.
Elements on the user interface may be used to enlarge or shrink
portions of the image 302.
In some embodiments, the item page 300 may include one or more
system/product level customer reviews (not shown) that provide
customer ratings and customer comments related to the overall item
displayed in the image 302. Additionally or alternatively, the item
page 300 may include an overall product level review tab or icon
312 and/or a component level review tab or icon 314. To view
customer reviews of the overall product, 312 is selected. To view
customer reviews related to individual components within the
product, tab 314 is selected. Additionally or alternatively, when
the user selects the component level review tab 314, a component
selection window 327 may be presented to afford the user the option
to enter the name of the component of interest or to select from a
list of available components of interest. Optionally, the tabs 312
and 314 may be omitted entirely.
In some embodiments, the image window 310 supports selection
through the user interface elements 304 of one or more components
of interest in the item. Using the bicycle example of FIG. 3A,
examples of separate, individual components of interest include the
gears, brakes, wheels, suspension system, frame, seat, handlebars
and the like. When a component level review is desired for one or
more of the components, as one example a region on the item may be
designated through the user interface of the computing device 104.
As one example, a cursor 308 may be positioned on a select region
of the image 302 where the component of interest is illustrated or
otherwise associated. The cursor 308 may be held to "hover" over
the select region for a predetermined period of time. When the
cursor 308 is positioned on a select region for the predetermined
period of time, one or more region designator 316 may pop up in the
image window 310 indicative of the component or components of
interest associated with the region designated. The region
designator 316 may be presented in various manners, such as but not
limited to a box overlaying a component of interest, a free-form
closed boundary surrounding a component of interest, a highlighted
region, a change in the size (e.g. enlarged or shrunken) of the
component of interest and the like. The box or closed boundary may
have a transparent core so that the component of interest is fully
visible within the box or closed boundary.
Optionally, the box or closed boundary may include shading, hash
marks, or another partially transparent graphic indicia
superimposed over the component of interest. Alternatively, the
region designator 316 may be presented as soon as the cursor 308 is
located on, or proximate to, a component of the item (e.g. without
waiting a predetermined period of time). Additionally or
alternatively, the user may enter an additional command through the
user interface (e.g. a right or left mouse click, a keyboard entry,
an audible instruction, a touch command to a touch sensitive
screen) to request/direct display of the region designator 316.
In some embodiments, a component drill down feature 325 may be
provided to the user. When a user is interested in viewing more
information about a rated component, the user will be able to click
on the component drill down feature 325, in response to which
additional detailed information regarding the component is
displayed. Non-limiting examples of the detailed information
include a number of users who contributed to the rating, the
components that users have rated, and/or any additional text the
user wrote to support the rating.
FIG. 3B illustrates the item page of FIG. 3A once a component of
interest is selected. The item page 300 presents a component level
rating window 320 that includes one or more component level ratings
322 associated with the component or components within the region
denoted by the region designator 316. In the example of FIG. 3B,
three component level ratings 322 are illustrated, each of which
includes a customer identifier (e.g. a name), a number of stars
indicative of a rating assigned by the customer, and text comments
provided by the customer. It is recognized that only a portion of
the rating information may be displayed (e.g. limited simply to a
star rating or other scaled rating indicator). Optionally,
different or additional rating information may be provided in
connection with the selected component. When more than one
component is selected within the region denoted by the region
designator 316, the user may be afforded the opportunity to pick
one of the components, for which reviews may be presented.
Optionally, reviews for each of the components within the region
denoted by the region designator 316 may be presented (e.g.,
reviews for the brakes, gears and pedals may all be co-displayed
and organized in various manners).
Optionally, additional ratings may exist that cannot be
co-displayed in a single rating window 320. The user may scroll
through these additional ratings 322 in various manners. As one
example, a slide bar 324 may be presented and the user permitted to
drag a marker 326 along the bar 324 to scroll through the ratings
322.
In some instances, the user may desire to update their review as
the user learns more about an item or component. For example, a
user may indicate that assembly was difficult, however thereafter
the item operated very well. Embodiments herein permit the user to
update reviews. As one example, sections of a review may be marked
with a time stamp to identify particular points in time. The point
in time associated with each section of a review is maintained and
stored in the item record, such as part of the content review.
The component level ratings 322 may be organized in different
manners. For example, the ratings 322 may be presented with the
most recent review/rating first and the oldest review/rating last.
The ratings 322 may be presented with the best rating first
followed in decreasing order. An individual component level rating
322 may be aggregated for various customer reviews associated with
the corresponding component. For example, an overall average
customer rating may be provided in connection with each associated
component (e.g., based on a number of "stars" or other metric with
which customers may rate). Customer ratings and information may
include reasons to buy an item. In some embodiments, a
<count> may be displayed to indicate how many reviews the
corresponding component received. In some embodiments, when
multiple components are within the region designator 316 a count of
the number of component level ratings may be used as an indicator
of relevance of the rating/comment in regard to this component. For
example, a first component (e.g. gears) with more hits (a higher
count) may be considered more relevant than a second component
(e.g. pedals) with fewer hits. In some embodiments, the
ratings/comments may be sorted, for example according to
<count>. In some embodiments, a customer name or identifier
may be provided with each rating/comment.
In some embodiments, the ratings and/or comments that are displayed
in the rating window 320 may be filtered and personalized according
to customer information and/or preferences (e.g. based on prior
searches by a present user, based on user profile information
stored in an account for the present user and the like).
Additionally or alternatively, the item page 300 may display
summary statistics for the component. Summary statistics may
include one or more metrics or statistics determined from analysis
of customer reviews as expressed in the comments (e.g., a ratio of
positive to negative sentiment for the corresponding component, or
other statistics based on sentiment scoring). Summary statistics
may be displayed graphically and/or textually. For example, summary
statistics may be displayed as charts or graphs of various
types.
It should be noted that the various windows presented on the item
page 300 may be formatted to be more compact than as illustrated in
FIGS. 3A-3E. As such, the more compact display of information for
an item may be useful for interfaces on consumer devices with small
screens such as cellphones, smartphones, and small tablet or pad
devices.
Various items of interest are symmetrical in certain manners, such
that a common component may exist at different physical locations
upon the item. Accordingly, the common components may not be
collectively selected through a simple user entry. For example, it
may not be desirable to separately provide reviews for each bicycle
wheel, each roller on a chair, each speaker on a stereo and the
like. Yet, the common components fall within a single logical
group. Accordingly, when an item includes multiple common
components, the common components may be logically grouped within
an item record, such that when review content is provided with
respect to one of the common components, the same review content is
combined with review content for any one or more of the common
elements. The common elements may be designated to fall within a
single logical group by vendors, programmable through machine
analysis and/or by customers. To illustrate the logical group to
the user, when a user selects one component, all components in the
logical group may be shown in region designations 316. The user may
then "deselect" one or more components from the group, such as by
"clicking" on the deselected component with the cursor.
Alternatively, the common elements are associated with one another,
users may not be afforded the opportunity to rate one component
from a logical group. While it may be desirable to rate a single
arm rest of a chair (e.g. due to a manufacturing defect), the
review content can capture issues pertaining to a single component
within a logical group with minimal loss of information at the
group level.
FIG. 3C illustrates an item page 340 that may be presented in
accordance with various embodiments. The item page 340 includes
user interface elements 344, an image window 350 (that illustrates
one or more images 342), item information 346 and a rating window
360. In the example of FIG. 3C, the image window 350 concurrently
presents and superimposes the image 342 and region designators
356A-G indicating associated components that collectively define
the item. All or a subset of the region designators 356A-G may be
co-displayed and overlaid upon one another to present all or a
subset of the user's potential choices in a single window. For
example, region designators 356 A, B designate and correspond to
the wheels, while region designator 356C designates and corresponds
to the gears, chain and pedals. Region designators 356D, E, F and G
designate and correspond to the handlebars, frame, seat and the
front suspension system, respectively. It is understood that the
region designators 356 A-G are by example only and that alternative
and/or additional region designators associated with other
components may be utilized.
The image window 350 also includes rating indicators 357 positioned
proximate to one or more of the region designators 356A-G. The
rating indicators 357 may be overlaid upon the corresponding
component, may be located within or adjacent to the corresponding
region designator 365A-G, or may be located elsewhere. The rating
indicators 357 include rating denoting indicia such as a number of
stars to indicate a component level rating attributed to the
corresponding component from one or more customer reviews. For
example, the rating indicator 357 may be presented as a graphical
indicator, a numeric number, a color coding (e.g. a rating map, as
discussed below in more detail) and/or another format to
graphically or otherwise visually and/or audibly indicate a
rating.
Alternatively or additionally, a rating window 360 may be included
within the item page 340 to present one or more component level
ratings 362 associated with the components within the region
designators 356A-F. The rating window 360 includes component level
ratings 362 in connection with the various components that form the
item. As illustrated in the example of FIG. 3C, component level
ratings 362 are provided for the gears, frame and comfort of the
bicycle. The component level ratings 362 may include various types
of rating information including, but not limited to, text comments,
audio and/or video review clips and the like. Optionally, the
rating scores denoted by the rating indicators 357 may also be
moved to, or repeated in, the rating window 360. The rating
information presented in the rating window 360 may represent
component-level aggregate ratings that combine multiple individual
customer reviews in connection with the corresponding component.
Additionally or alternatively, non-aggregated individual customer
reviews may be presented in the rating window 360. The individual
customer reviews may be ordered or grouped by component, date,
level of the rating, an amount of detail in the rating, or
otherwise. The rating window 360 may toggle or switch between
aggregated and non-aggregated customer reviews in response to a
user input at elements 344. Optionally, the rating window 360 may
present item level rating information in connection with other
items that include the same or similar components. For example, the
item level rating information may list various items include the
component of interest, along with average ratings assigned to each
such item. For example, when the user views component level ratings
for a particular make/model of a gear set on a particular
make/model bicycle, the rating window 360 may list other make/model
bicycles that use the same make/model gear set, as well as average
ratings assigned to the other make/model bicycles. The rating
window 360 may also present average ratings assigned to the same
gear set when implemented on the make/model bicycles, such as in
order to inform the user as to whether a particular gear set has
received low or high ratings regardless of the bicycle used, or
whether the gear set rating varies depending upon the make/model of
bicycle.
Optionally, an additional window may be presented (not shown) or
the rating window 360 may be expanded to present, components on
other items that may be interchangeable with the component
presently being reviewed. For example, when the user views
component level ratings associated with a gear set, the rating
window 360 (or optionally a separate pop up window) may present
alternative components (e.g. alternative gear sets) that may be
interchanged with or substituted for the initial component provided
with the item. As an example, user may have selected a bicycle that
has a basic configuration with a standard gear. However, upon
reading the component level reviews associated with the standard
gear set, the user may not wish to purchase the bicycle and its
basic configuration. Accordingly, the rating window 360 or a
separate pop up window may present alternative/upgraded gear sets
that may be substituted for the standard gear set along with
reviews of alternative/upgraded gear sets.
As a further example, alternative/upgraded options for one
component may be presented to the user through the rating window
360, such as when the rating associated with a particular component
are low compared to other components of the same item. For example,
the component level ratings for a majority of the components in the
bicycle may be four or more stars, while only the standard gear set
associated with the particular item on the received two stars. In
this example, the rating window may present alternative component
options for the gear set where the alternative gear sets received
the same or similar rating (e.g. for or more stars) as the rest of
the components in the bicycle. The user may then be afforded the
opportunity to change gear sets (more generally substitute an
alternative component) having a higher rating than the original
component.
Additionally or alternatively, the user may be afforded an
opportunity to make upgrades, such as switching to a higher rated
gear set, without incurring additional charges, such as based on
past customer loyalty or sales. For example, as a user makes
multiple purchases, the user may accrue points or credits that may
be exchanged for complete future purchases, as well as upgrades
when switching between standard and alternative/upgraded
components.
Additionally or alternatively, even after a user purchases an item,
the system and method herein may track upgrade options to be
presented as future accessory purchases or replacement purchases.
For example, a user may purchase a standard bicycle with a standard
gear set. Following the purchase, in alternative gear set may
become available that consistently receives higher ratings than the
standard gear set. The systems and methods herein may provide a
follow-up communication (e.g. an email, text message and the like)
to the user informing the user that an alternative component/gear
set is available that has received higher component level ratings.
The user may be afforded the opportunity to purchase the new gear
set or exchange the standard gear set for an upgraded gear set at a
discounted price.
In some embodiments, the illustration of the components and region
designators 356A-G may be modified as the user moves a cursor over
portions of the item 342. For example, when the cursor is placed
over an individual component (or within a region designator
356A-G), the corresponding component may be illustrated in a
magnified manner within the image window 350 or elsewhere on the
display. Additionally or alternatively, when the cursor is placed
over an individual component (or within a region designator
356A-G), the corresponding component may be highlighted, while the
other components are dimmed or otherwise de-emphasized.
FIG. 3D illustrates an item page 370 that presents component level
ratings in accordance with embodiments herein. The item page 370
includes user interface elements 374, item information 376, and an
image window 380, among other things. The image window 380
illustrates an image 372 of the item. In some embodiments, the
systems and methods herein enable the user to designate one or more
components of interest by using one or more user interface elements
374 to draw a region designator 386 on the image 372. For example,
the user interface element 374 may represent the cursor 378,
whereby the user maneuvers the cursor 378 about a region on the
image 372 at least partially encompassing the component of
interest. In the example of FIG. 3D, a free form region designator
386 has been drawn about a portion of the frame, the front (or
drive) gear assembly, a portion of the back wheel and the
pedals.
Once the region designator 386 is drawn about a select region (and
any time multiple components are potentially being selected), in
accordance with some embodiments, a component selection window 384
may be presented to prompt the user to identify which component
rating the user desires (or which component to rate). The component
selection window 384 may pop-up automatically or may open in
response to a user input. The component selection window 384 may
include an alphanumeric text entry window to permit the user to
enter a name or other designator for a select component.
Additionally or alternatively, the component selection window 384
may present a list of candidate components, where the list includes
one or more of the components that are at least partially contained
within or associated with the region designator 386. In the example
of FIG. 3D, the list of optional components includes the gears,
frame and pedals, from which the user may select. Once a component
of interest is selected, rating information associated with the
component is presented in a rating window, such as rating window
320, 360 (FIGS. 3B, 3C) or otherwise. Optionally, once a component
of interest is selected, a rating entry window may be presented to
enable the user to enter review content in connection with the
selected component.
Optionally, the information collected in connection with drawing a
region designator 386 may be provided as feedback to the system in
connection with future identification of components in the same or
similar items. For example, when the user draws the region
designator 386 and then chooses to enter a component level rating
for a bicycle frame, the system may use the corresponding feedback
information for future reference to identify the frame as a
component of interest when shapes similar to the region designator
386 are drawn by subsequent users. Additionally or alternatively,
when the user holds the mouse over a particular portion of an item
or draws a box around other portions of an item, followed by the
user selection of a component to be rated, the system uses this
feedback information to continuously learn and become more
effective at identifying the component for which a user desires to
enter or review ratings.
FIG. 3E illustrates an item page 390 that may be presented in
connection with entering component level reviews in accordance with
embodiments herein. The item page 390 includes user interface
elements 394, an image window 391, and item information 393. An
image 392 is presented in the image window 391. The user interface
of a computing device receives inputs from a user (e.g. through the
keyboard, mouse and otherwise) to designate one or more components
of interest from the image 392.
Optionally, the review request window 395 may be skipped when the
region designator 396 indicates a single component (e.g. only
surrounds a single component, is located within a single component
or a majority of the region designator is encompassed by a single
component).
In the example of FIG. 3E, the user has drawn a free-form region
designator 396 using the mouse and cursor about various components
in the item 392. Once the user selects the region designator 396
(or automatically upon completing the loop of the region designator
396), a review request window 395 is presented to question the user
as to which component the user desires to rate. For example, the
review request window 395 may present the question "Do you want to
add a review for the frame?" followed by yes or no options. When
the user enters a YES indication, a review content entry window 399
is presented. The review content entry window 399 permits the user
to enter a standardized rating, text comments, and/or attach
audio/video clips. The manner by which the user may be afforded to
enter standardized ratings in window 399 may vary in accordance
with the format described herein and otherwise.
Returning to window 395, when the user enters a NO indication that
the frame is not the component for which the user wishes to enter a
review, a component entry window 397 may be presented to query the
user as to "Which part do you want to add a review?". Once the user
enters the name of the component or selects the component from a
list, the review content entry window 399 is presented to permit
the user to enter review content in connection there with.
The examples illustrated in FIGS. 3A-3E illustrate components that
are outwardly visible on the surface of the item. It is understood
that the features and functionality described herein may be equally
applied to components not visible in certain views or images of the
item. For example, a cellular phone battery represents an internal
component that is not visible from a view of an exterior of the
phone. To afford easy selection of internal components, the image
may be supplemented with additional views of primary internal
components within the item. Accordingly, when an image of the cell
phone is displayed, an image of the battery may also be displayed
to enable the user to rate the battery life by selecting the image
of the battery as a proxy for battery life. Supplemental images
and/or names of particular components may be presented when such
components are not visible from the outside of the product.
Additionally, an option may be presented on the user interface to
animate assembly and disassembly of the item, such as to simulate
removal of the exterior housing in order that the interior
components are visible. The user would then be afforded the
opportunity to select various internal components once the animated
image has removed the housing. Additionally or alternatively,
internal components may be illustrated in a dashed or shadow line
as a hidden component through the housing with or without
alphanumeric labels to identify the hidden components. The user
would then select a hidden component to view the review content
and/or enter review content. Additionally or alternatively, a list
of component names may be presented next to the image of the item,
where the list of component names includes components that are not
readily visible from an overall exterior view of the item. The user
would then be afforded the opportunity to select one or more of the
component names to select the corresponding component to view or
enter review content.
Optionally, the component level ratings may be returned as feedback
to manufacturers, marketers, distributors and other businesses or
individuals interested in the component for which the rating was
provided, such as in order to provide improvements in the
corresponding component or overall item. For example, the review
content 118 (FIG. 1) may be returned to the content providers 106
periodically or on an ongoing basis in order to provide customer
feedback regarding positive and negative aspects of the components
and overall item. As a further example, the component level rating
may be utilized as teaching or training information for employees
of the manufacturers, marketers, distributors and other business
entities or individuals. As one example, the item may represent art
or a music product, where the components correspond to portions or
aspects of the art or music. The component level ratings may be
provided as feedback to the artist, producers or other interested
individuals/businesses as an instructional tool (e.g., customers
cannot understand aspects of a piece of art, the lyric in a song,
the relevance of a section in a book, etc.).
FIG. 4 illustrates an example format for an item record 400 that
stores various information and content in accordance with
embodiments herein. The item record 400 is associated with a single
item and may be stored in the content data store 116 (FIG. 1), the
item catalog 112, the memory 122 or elsewhere on a network. The
item record 400 includes, among other things, an image file 402, a
component map 404, review content collection 406, a rating map 407,
a region indicator map 416, and other information and content
related to the item. The image file 402 may store one or more 2D or
3D images of the item, one or more 3D models of the item, exploded
views of the pieces and parts within the item and the like. The
image file 402 stores one or more images of the item or portions of
the item in various formats, such as a bit map or other known image
format. Various known formats may be used to store the images
formatted as 2-D images, 3D images, 3D models and the like.
A non-limiting list is provided below for examples of 3D graphics
formats that may be utilized in accordance with embodiments herein:
3DMF--QuickDraw 3D Metafile (0.3dmf); 3DS, MAX--3D Studio Max Model
(.max, 0.3ds); 3DT-3D Topicscape; ATY--3D Topicscape; AC--AC3D
Model (.ac); AN8--Anim8 or Model (.an8); AOI--Art of Illusion Model
(.aoi); B3D--Blitz3D Model (.b3d); BLEND--Blender (.blend);
C4D--Cinema 4D (.c4d); Cal3D--Cal3D (cal3d); CAG--Linear Reference
System; CFL--Compressed File Library (.cfl); COB--Caligari Object
(.cob) CTM--OpenCTM (.ctm); DAE--COLLADA (.dae); DTS--Torque Game
Engine (.dts); EGG--Panda3D Engine; FACT--Electric Image (.fac);
FBX--Autodesk FBX (.fbx); FES--3D Topicscape; G--BRL-CAD geometry
(.g); GLM--Ghoul Mesh (.glm); LWO--Lightwave Object (.Iwo);
LWS--Lightwave Scene (.Iws); LXO--Luxology Modo (software) file
(.Ixo); MA--Autodesk Maya ASCII File (.ma); MB--Autodesk Maya
Binary File (.mb); MD2--Quake 2 model format (.md2); MD3--Quake 3
model format (.md3); MDX--Blizzard Entertainment's own model format
(.mdx); MESH--New York University (.m); MESH--Meshwork Model
(.mesh); MM3D--Misfit Model 3d (.mm3d); MM--FreeMind mind map file
(XML); MMP--Mind Manager mind map file; TPC--3D Topicscape;
NIF--Gamebryo NetImmerse File (.nif); OBJ--OBJ (.obj); OFF--OFF
Object file format (.off); PRC--Adobe PRC (embedded in PDF files);
POV--POV-Ray Document (.pov); RWX--RenderWare Object (.rwx);
SIA--Nevercenter Silo Object (.sia); SIB--Nevercenter Silo Object
(.sib); ANEE--3D Flash Gallery Model[1] (.u3d); SKP--Google
Sketchup file (.skp); SLDASM--SolidWorks Assembly Document
(.sldasm); SLDPRT--SolidWorks Part Document (.sldprt); SMD--Valve's
format. (.smd); U3D--Universal 3D file format (.u3d).
The image file 402 is partitioned into image areas 412, each area
of which comprises one or more pixels or subsections of pixels. The
region indicator map 416 corresponds to and is relationally
overlaid upon the image file 402, such that the image areas 412 are
associated in a one-to-one relation with regions within the region
indicator map 416. The region indicator map 416 includes component
boundaries 456A-G stored in connection with each ratable component
of interest. In the example of FIGS. 4 and 3C, the component
boundaries 456A-G correspond to the region indicators 356A-G. The
component boundaries 456A-G may be manually designated, or machine
determined by analyzing one or more images of the item.
The component map 404 includes a list of component IDs 410 uniquely
associated with each component within the item for which separate
customer review content has been stored or may be stored. The
component map 404 also includes links 408 associating each region
boundary 456A-G (and image area 412) to a corresponding one or more
component IDs 410. In the example of FIG. 4, for illustration
purposes, the regions within component boundaries 456A-G are
lettered A through G, each of which has a link 408 to a
corresponding component A-ID-G-ID. In the example of FIG. 4, the
component A-ID is mapped/linked to region boundary 456A which
corresponds to the front tire of the bicycle and by way of example
may correspond to image areas 412 in the lower left corner of the
image file 402. The component G-ID is mapped/linked to region
boundary 456G which, by way of example, may correspond to a
diagonal line of image areas 412. The region boundaries 456A-456G
may take various shapes, such as to more closely follow the contour
of the related component or any other free-form shape.
The component map 404 also includes links 414 that map each
component ID to corresponding review content 418 in the review
content collection 406. The review content 418 includes the
individual and aggregate ratings, comments and reviews, as well as
other content that provides objective and/or subjective feedback
regarding the related component (e.g. feedback related to
reliability, performance, ease of use, aesthetic appearance,
durability, etc.).
The rating map 407 includes graphical information associated with
each component ID 410, where the graphical information may be
displayed adjacent to, overlaid upon or otherwise relative to the
associated component. The graphical information is representative
of feedback provided through prior customer reviews. For example,
the graphical information may represent unique colors along a color
scale, where each color is associated a standardized rating along a
rating scale. For example, components having numerous high or very
positive ratings may be overlaid with a select color or shade, such
as green or a dark color, to indicate that the associated component
was highly regarded in feedback from customers. Similarly,
components having numerous low or very negative ratings may be
overlapped with another color or shade, such as red or a light
color, to indicate that the associated component was negatively
regarded in feedback from customers.
It is recognized that the structure illustrated in FIG. 4 for an
item record 400 represents merely one example of a structure.
Numerous alternative data structures may be utilized to associate
components of an item with review content. For example, when 3-D
models are utilized, the review content may be directly associated
with points, portions or components within the 3-D model without
the use of region indicator maps, component maps, image files and
the like.
Flow diagrams of example processes are now described to facilitate
entry and review of component level ratings in connection with
discrete components of an item. Each process is illustrated as a
collection of blocks in a logical flow graph, which represent a
sequence of operations that can be implemented in hardware,
software, or a combination thereof. In the context of software, the
blocks represent computer-executable instructions stored on one or
more computer-readable storage media that, when executed by one or
more processors, perform the recited operations. Generally,
computer-executable instructions include routines, programs,
objects, components, data structures, and the like that perform
particular functions or implement particular abstract data types.
The order in which the operations are described is not intended to
be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described
blocks can be combined in any order and/or in parallel to implement
the process.
FIG. 5 illustrates a process for reviewing component level ratings
entered in connection with customer reviews for an item in
accordance with embodiments herein. The process of FIG. 5 will be
described in connection with the user interface illustrated in
FIGS. 3A-3E.
At 502, the process provides an item page 300 including an image
302 of an item for display on a computing device. For example, the
item is displayed in response to an item request created by a user
via a computing device 104. The item request may be received by the
content provider 106, in response to which the content provider 106
returns an item record including an image of the item to a user
interface of the computing device 104. It is recognized, that
leading up to the provision of the image of the item, various
operations may be implemented by the computing device 104 and/or
content provider 106 in accordance with existing techniques and
protocols for implementing e-commerce through websites. The image
302 of the item is provided to the user such as by displaying the
image 302 on a display of the computing device 104.
At 504, the process then receives, from the user, a region
designation of a region on the image 302 corresponding to a
component of interest from the item. By way of example, the region
designation may be entered as a response to holding the cursor 308
over a component of interest, after which the region designator 316
is displayed. The region associated with the region designator 316
may automatically be processed as the designated region at 504.
Optionally, the process may wait for the user to enter an
additional input/command to indicate that the region designator 316
corresponds to the region for which the user wishes to enter a
designation (e.g. mouse click or keyboard entry). Additionally or
alternatively, the region designation may be generated when, and in
response to, the user selects the component level review tab 314
(FIG. 1) and subsequently enters a component name or selecting a
component of interest from the list displayed in the component
selection window 327. As explained above, the list of available
components may be designated manually or automatically through
various imaging and text analysis techniques of product
information, prior reviews and the like. Additionally or
alternatively, the region designation may be generated when, and in
response to, the user selects one of the region indicators 356A-G
(FIG. 3C), and/or one of the ratings 362. Additionally or
alternatively, the region designation may be generated when the
region designator 386 (FIG. 3D) is drawn about the item 372.
Optionally, the region designation may be generated in other
manners as well.
At 506, the process matches the region designation on the item to a
corresponding ratable component. By way of example, with respect to
FIG. 5, the process may analyze the image file 402 to identify
image areas 412 that correspond to a region designated by the user.
By way of example, the region may be designated when the user holds
the cursor 308 (FIG. 3A) over a component on the image 302 or draws
a region designator 386 (FIG. 3D) about one or more components.
Once the process determines which image areas 412 (FIG. 4) that
fall within or at least partially overlap the region designated by
the user, the process then identifies one or more corresponding
component boundaries 456A-G. Image recognition software may be used
solely or in combination with user feedback to identify and
generate the component boundaries 456A-G. In the example of FIGS. 4
and 3A, when the user holds the cursor 308 over the front gear
assembly, the process determines that the image area 412 associated
with the cursor 308 falls within the region boundary 456C
associated with the gear assembly. Accordingly, the process uses
the links 408 to match the region designated with a corresponding
ratable component by identifying the ratable component of interest
to be component C-ID (the gear assembly).
At 508, the process collects review content associated with the
ratable component identified at 506. Continuing with the example of
FIG. 4, the process retrieves the content review 418 associated
with component C-ID. The content review 418 for component C-ID is
designated by the link 414.
At 510, the process outputs all or a portion of the content review
418 for display in association with the designated region. In some
embodiments, output of content review 418 may include the display
of component level ratings, such as one or more stars, on the
display of a computing device. The component level ratings may be
displayed on, or adjacent to, the corresponding component (e.g. on
the image areas 412 associated with the component). As another
example, component level ratings and comments may be presented in a
rating window (e.g., rating window 320 in FIG. 3B). When the
content review 418 includes audio or video clips that include
customer review content, the audio or video clip may be
automatically played without further user input. Alternatively, a
link to the audio or video clip may be presented on the display,
such as proximate to the associated component or within a rating
window, or elsewhere. The content review 418 may be displayed in
various formats other than the manner described and illustrated in
connection with FIGS. 3A-3E.
The process of FIG. 5 may be repeated continuously in connection
with one or more users as the user(s) selects different components
of interest from the item. The process of FIG. 5 may also be
repeated numerous times as one or more users select different
items.
In embodiments discussed herein, the component of interest is
identified based on presentation of an image of an item on an item
page through a user interface of a computing device. Additionally
or alternatively, a component of interest may be identified in
other manners without first presenting an image of the item through
a user interface. FIG. 2 illustrates a computing device 104
configured to capture information to identify an item or component
of interest in accordance with embodiments herein. For example, a
camera within the computing device 104 may be used to collect a
photograph or video of an item and/or a component of interest from
an item. As another example, the computing device 104 may take a
photograph or scan a barcode, product name or other product
identification content on an item, on an advertisement or other
marketing literature identifying the item, and/or a container
holding the item. In the event that a barcode, product name or
other identification content is provided that identifies individual
components of an item, the computing device 104 may also be used to
take photographs or scan such material.
The computing device 104 passes the photograph, video or scan of
the item, component of interest, barcode, product name, or other
identification content to a content provider 106, server or other
networked computer system to be analyzed and identified.
Alternatively or additionally, the computing device 104 may include
image recognition software that enables the computing device to
locally analyze and identify the item or component of interest
within the photograph, video or scan of the item, component of
interest, barcode, product name, or other identification
content.
When the photograph or video corresponds to one or more individual
components of interest, the operations discussed herein at 504-510
(FIG. 5) may be repeated to identify individual component IDs, as
well as content review related to the individual components of
interest. Additionally or alternatively, when the photograph or
video correspond to an overall item having numerous components of
interest, the item captured in the photo/video is first identified
through image recognition software (operating locally on the
computing device and/or operating remotely on a server or other
computer-based network). Optionally, the computing device may
display a window identifying one or more candidate items that have
been identified by the image recognition software and prompting the
user to select one of the candidate items as an item of interest.
Once an item of interest is identified, the operations discussed at
502-510 (FIG. 5) may be used to enable the user to select one or
more components of interest.
FIG. 6 illustrates a more detailed process carried out during the
operation at 506 in FIG. 5, to match area designations with rated
components in accordance with embodiments herein. All or a portion
of the operations in FIG. 6 may be carried out during the matching
operation performed at 506.
At 602, the process receives a designation of the region on the
image for which the user is interested in entering a customer
rating or for which the user is interested in viewing review
content.
At 604, the process determines which technique to use to identify
the rated/ratable component. The determination may be based on the
nature of the information entered by the user, based on predefined
parameters of the system and the like. For example, at 604 the
process may determine what information has been entered by the
user, such as a single point marker or a collection of markers
sufficient to define a line, arc or closed loop. For example, as in
the embodiment of FIG. 3D, the cursor 378 may be used to draw a
region designator 386 that define a closed perimeter. A region
designator 386 drawn by the user for a partially or fully closed
perimeter, may be defined by multiple markers positioned about the
region designator 386. When multiple markers or other information
is received that designates a closed region designator 386, flow
branches to 608.
At 608, the process analyzes the area within a boundary defined by
the markers to identify one or more associated components of
interest. For example, the process may access the region indicator
map 416 (FIG. 4) and identify one or more region indicators 456A-G
that correspond to image areas 412 that include, or are enclosed
within, a box boundary defined by the markers at 606. By way of
example, when the markers correspond to a central portion of the
bicycle at 608 the process would determine that the markers
correspond to one or more of the frame and gear assembly.
Accordingly, at 608, one or more component IDs would be identified
to correspond to the markers.
In accordance with some embodiments, as explained in connection
with FIG. 3A, the user may simply hold the cursor 308 over a
component of interest, or position the cursor 308 over a component
of interest and single click. When the user holds the cursor 308
over a component of interest for a predetermined time (or uses the
cursor 308 to enter a selection), the process generates a cursor
location marker (e.g., an X,Y coordinate, a pixel number, etc.)
that represent a point designation. The point designation indicates
a present location of the cursor 308 relative to a reference point
and reference coordinate system of the image. Returning to 604,
when a cursor location marker is returned that corresponds to a
single point, insufficient information has been returned to form a
user defined bounded box. Thus, when a point designation for a
cursor location is returned, flow branches to 608. Optionally, flow
may branch to 608 in other situations, when more than a single
point designation is received.
At 608, the process compares the point designation(s) to the image
file 402 to identify the image area 412 corresponding to the point
designation. Once an image area 412 is identified, the region
indicator map 416 is reviewed to determine whether the image area
412 overlaps one or more region indicators 456A-F. For example,
when the cursor is used to designate a point on the handlebars, the
corresponding image area 412 is identified, as is the corresponding
region indicator 456D. From the region indicator 456D, link 408 is
used to identify the component ID 410 for the handlebars from the
component map 404.
At 610, the process returns one or more component identifiers
associated with the component(s) on the item identified at 606
and/or at 608, and flow returns to FIG. 5. The process of FIG. 6
represents examples of some techniques for identifying individual
components of interest from an item based on various types of user
entries and based on different levels of machine-based analysis of
the content of the images. It is recognized that other techniques
may be used in accordance with embodiments herein to convert user
inputs through a graphical user interface into component
identification.
FIG. 7 illustrates a process for entering customer reviews for
components of interest in accordance with embodiments herein. By
way of example, at some predetermined period of time after a user
buys or otherwise obtains an item, a request may be sent to the
user to request feedback including a customer review. The
operations of FIG. 7 are described below in connection with FIG. 8.
FIG. 8 illustrates, in the upper portion, examples of windows from
a user interface 803 that may be presented to the use on a display
as part of the user interface. FIG. 8 also illustrates portions of
one example of an architecture for an item record.
At 702, the process provides an image of an item to be displayed on
a display of a computing device. For example, with reference to
FIG. 8, an image 872 is provided to be displayed in image window
880. FIG. 8 also illustrates an image file 802 superimposed on the
image window 880 such that image areas 812 are illustrated in
correspondence with the item 872. It is recognized that the grid
structure for the individual image areas 812 is for illustration
purposes, and may or may not be displayed to users in the image
window 880.
At 704, the process receives a designation from the user through
the graphical user interface of a computing device, where the
designation identifies a region of interest to the user on the
image 872. For example, a cursor 878 may be used to draw a
partially or fully closed box about a region of interest, such as
denoted by user-designated box 886. Markers or other information
may be generated that define the position, shape and size of the
user-designated box 886. While the box 886 is illustrated to be
rectangular, it is recognized that various predetermined shapes may
be utilized where the cursor 878 may be used to adjust the
position, orientation and size of the predetermined shape.
Alternatively or additionally, the box 886 may have a shape that is
not predetermined, such as when the user is permitted to draw a
free-form shape by tracing the cursor 878 along any path within the
image 880.
FIG. 8 also illustrates, in the lower portion, portions of an item
record 800, namely a component map 804, a region indicator map 816,
and review content 806. The item record 800 may include similar
content to the item record 400 as described above in connection
with FIG. 5. The maps 804, 816 and review content 806 may be
constructed similar to the maps 404 and 416, and the review content
collection 406 of FIG. 4.
At 706, the process identifies one or more components of interest
that correspond to the designated region on the image 872. For
example, with reference to FIG. 8, the markers that identify the
user-designated box 886 are used to identify corresponding image
areas 812. The image areas 812 within the user-designated box 886
are mapped to corresponding component boundaries 856A-G. In the
example of FIG. 8, the process determines that the user-designated
box 886 overlaps component boundaries 856D and 856G that correspond
to the handlebars and the suspension system. The process then
identifies one or more component IDs from the component map 804
that are associated with the component boundaries 856D and 856G.
The process displays information related to the components
corresponding to component boundaries 856D and 856G. For example,
prior reviews by other customers may be displayed.
In some embodiments, the displayed information related to the
components is presented in a component selection window 884 to
prompt the user to select one or more components that the user
desires to rate. For example, the component selection window 884
may pose the question "Which component do you want to rate?". The
component collection window 884 may also present a data entry box
to permit the user to enter alphanumeric text identifying the
component to be rated. Additionally or alternatively, a list of
candidate components may be presented in the component selection
window 884. Once the user enters the name of a component and/or
selects one of the candidate components listed, in response
thereto, a rating entry window 885 is presented. The rating entry
window 885 enables the user to enter various review content such as
a standardized (e.g., star based) rating, comments, an audio clip
reviewing the component, a video clip reviewing the component and
the like.
The question and list of candidates posed in the component
selection window 884 are presented when the user designates more
than one component, such as by drawing a user-designated box 886
that encompasses more than one component. Optionally, the component
selection window 884 may be omitted when the user-designated box
886 includes only a single component, such as the handlebars or the
front suspension system.
At 708, the process receives review content from the user through
the rating entry window 885. The process analyzes the review
content such as to determine what rating was entered and/or to
determine whether any rating was entered. The process may also
parse through and analyze the text, audio content and video content
of the review content, such as to assess the nature of the
feedback. For example, the process may determine whether the user
is providing positive or negative feedback concerning the component
of interest. The process may determine a degree to which the
feedback is positive or negative (e.g. neutral, highly
positive/negative, slightly positive/negative). The process may
also analyze the text, audio and video content in order to assess
whether the review content is appropriate (e.g. whether the
comments, audio, video use strong language, adult content, or are
otherwise inappropriate for children to review).
In some embodiments, the user may not wish to enter comments, but
instead simply enter a star rating and nothing more. To facilitate
entry of star ratings alone, in the example of FIG. 8, the
component rating window 885 is presented with an easy manner for
selecting a rating value. For example, the user may click on the
number of stars that the user desires to enter. Optionally, the
user may click and drag to select a group of stars. The text box
for comments allows the user to enter additional information to
reinforce the customer sentiment about the component. The component
level review entered by the user is stored together with other
component level reviews and any system level reviews of the overall
item.
Various text, audio and video analysis techniques may be used to
analyze the review content. For example, in some embodiments, text
review content may be analyzed to identify keywords and phrases
(text or spoken) that have been previously used in other reviews
and/or otherwise classified to correspond to very positive,
positive, neutral, negative, or very negative feedback. The
keywords and phrases of the review content may also be analyzed to
determine whether the comments apply to the component identified to
be rated. For example, when the comments refer to the "gears" or
"seat", but the component under review is the handlebars, the
process may identify a discrepancy and seek to confirm that the
appropriate component is being reviewed (e.g., through a component
confirmation window).
Based on the analysis of the text, audio and video, the process
determines whether the review content entered by the user is to be
verified. For example, the user may enter comments, but may not
enter a rating. When no rating is entered, the process may seek to
suggest a rating to the user based on the text, audio, video
comments. As another example, the user may enter very positive
comments and enter a very negative rating, or vice versa. When the
review content is incomplete, inconsistent or otherwise warrants
verification, flow moves to 708.
When the user enters a rating and the rating appears to be
consistent with the comments entered by the user, no further
verification may be warranted and flow moves to 714. The customer
may enter more than one review at different points in time related
to a particular component. Each review entered by a user is
assigned a time marker denoting the point in time at which the
review is provided. When a single customer enters multiple reviews
at different points in time, each review by the common customer is
separately marked with a time stamp to maintain time-based
ratings.
At 710, the process analyzes the review content to derive one or
more candidate ratings or other candidate suggestion. For example,
when the comments use very positive or very negative words, an
appropriate rating may be suggested to the user (e.g., "Based on
your comments, would you want to give the handlebars a 3 star
rating?"). When the comments do not appear to apply to the
component, a confirmation request may be presented ("Did you want
to rate the gears instead of the handlebars?").
At 712, the process provides the candidate rating for display and
requests confirmation. At 714, the process determines whether a
confirmation is received that verifies the candidate rating or
candidate suggestion. When a confirmation is received, flow moves
to 718. Alternatively, when a rejection is received, flow moves to
716. At 716, the process returns to the rating entry window 985 to
enable the user to enter an alternative rating.
At 716, the process records one or more candidate ratings,
comments, reviews, etc., in the review content 806. The review
content 806 may also include time markers denoting the point in
time at which a review is provided.
In accordance with embodiments herein, the user may dictate the
review content. The process utilizes any of several conventional
speech recognition software packages to convert the dictation of
the review content to text. The process also analyzes, as explained
above, the speech and/or text to identify keywords and phrases,
from which recommendations may be offered to the user for a rating
level, based upon a standardized rating scale. For example, the
process may listen while the user speaks an audio review, and
respond by adding the standardized rating at a level deemed
appropriate based upon the spoken audio review.
In accordance with embodiments herein, the speech recognition
software may also analyze voice inflection and audible emphasis in
the speech in connection with making recommendations for a rating
level. For example, when a user sounds animated, excited or
otherwise exhibits strong emotion in connection with providing an
audio review, the process may suggest a higher or lower rating than
the wording within the review may otherwise suggest.
In accordance with the process of FIG. 7, a user is afforded the
opportunity to enter component level ratings, including
standardized or normalized ratings, comments, audio and video clips
and the like. The user's entries are analyzed at the time of entry
to try to fill in blanks that the user may leave and to determine
whether the user's entries are internally consistent. When gaps or
inconsistencies are noted, the user is prompted to clarify or to
confirm that the gap or inconsistency is intended.
In accordance with embodiments herein, the process of FIG. 7 may
also enable component segmentation to be changed based on user
feedback. For example, operations may be added to the process of
FIG. 7 to afford a product level manager or end user the option to
change the borders separating the components. For example, the
manager or user may enter a request to view one or more of the
component boundaries 856A-G. In response, one or more of the
component boundaries 856A-G are superimposed over the image 872.
The manager or user may then adjust a select component boundary
856A-G with the cursor 878, such as by clicking and dragging the
select component boundary 856A-G in a desired manner until the
select component boundary 856A-G has a desired size, shape,
position and orientation. In accordance with embodiments herein,
image recognition software in addition to or as an alternative to
user feedback, may be used to identify and generate the component
boundaries 856A-G.
In accordance with embodiments herein, an "ask/answer feature" may
be provided in connection with entry of review content by users.
For example, when a user enters a review, the user may also enter
questions (or answer prior questions) concerning the component or
overall item. For example, the questions may relate to assembly,
maintenance, individual settings and the like. The questions are
saved in the content review as part of the review content.
Subsequent reviews entered by other users may also utilize the
ask/answer feature to answer prior questions and pose new
questions.
FIG. 9 illustrates a process for displaying rating maps overlaid
with components of interest in accordance with embodiments herein.
The operations of FIG. 9 will be described in connection with the
illustration of FIG. 10.
At 902, the process provides an image of one or more items for
display and an option to enable a rating map. At 904, the process
determines whether the user has chosen to view a rating map. When
the user chooses to view the rating map, flow moves to 906,
otherwise the process ends. At 906, the process accesses a rating
map associated with the item and collects rating indicia associated
with component(s) of the item. At 908, the process overlays the
rating indicia from the rating map onto the image of the item.
FIG. 10 illustrates an item page 1040 with a rating map that may be
presented in accordance with various embodiments. The item page
1040 includes user interface elements 1044, an image window 1050
(that illustrates one or more images 1042), item information 1046
and a rating window 1060. In the example of FIG. 10, the image
window 1050 concurrently overlays a heat rating map onto the image
1042. The image window 1050 includes component boundaries 1056A-G
surrounding each of the components of interest in the item 1042.
For example, component boundaries 1056A, B designate and correspond
to the wheels, while component boundary 1056C designates and
corresponds to the gears, chain and pedals. Component boundaries
1056D, E, F and G designate and correspond to the handlebars,
frame, seat and the front suspension system, respectively. It is
understood that the component boundaries 1056A-G are by example
only and that alternative and/or additional component boundaries
associated with other components may be utilized.
The component boundaries 1056A-G include graphical indicia that
indicate a standardized rating assigned to the corresponding
component. The standardized rating for an individual component may
represent an aggregate rating based on multiple ratings from
various customers in connection with the corresponding component.
Optionally, the standardized rating for an individual component may
correspond to one or various combinations of prior ratings, such as
a most recent rating, a top 10 ratings, a bottom 10 rating, ratings
during the last month or year and the like. The graphical indicia
may represent various formats used to designate points along a
standardized scale, such as color coding, different hashing
patterns, and/or another format to graphically or otherwise
visually and/or audibly indicate a rating.
A rating key 1051 is provided proximate to the image page 1050. The
rating key 1051 indicates a correlation of the level within the
standardized rating scale and the graphical indicia. For example, a
one star rating may correspond to the color red or a speckle hashed
or shaded pattern, while a five-star rating may correspond to the
color green or a darkly shaded pattern.
In some embodiments, the customer may utilize a computing device to
navigate to an item page. The item page provides an option for
enabling a rating map (e.g., a rating map) of the item. The rating
map comprises, among other things, a scale for determining the
rating, and a translucent rating map overlaid on top of the image
of the item. By way of example, the scale may be a gradient that is
quantized to one decimal point. For example, there may be 41
(1.0-5.0 in 0.1 increments) unique colors. The colors may be chosen
in such a way that major increments in the rating are easy to
distinguish from each other. The rating map is stored in the
content data store 116 and/or item catalog 112 and/or memory 122 in
a mapped relation with the image of the item. The rating map may
represent an aggregate of all prior user ratings. An item that is
not rating map enabled will have an overlay fill of the color
corresponding to the average rating for all of the components.
In some embodiments, more or fewer than a five star rating system
may be utilized. Embodiments may be provided in which users provide
ratings based on a binary or two level rating system. When a two
level rating system is used, the rating map may include indicia
only to identify the components that received overwhelming
population "liked" or "disliked" rating. For example, when 75% or
more of the reviews for a component were "liked", the component may
be shaded in green. When 75% or more of the reviews for a component
represent a "disliked" rating, the component may be shaded in red.
Another metric besides a percentage may be used. Components that do
not receive a large number of "liked" or "disliked" ratings may be
presented with a neutral indicia (e.g. white background) or without
any indicia.
In some embodiments, a retrofit configuration may be implemented in
connection with a wide assortment of images that already exist. The
existing images can be retrofitted with the scaling map (rating
map) overlays. A vendor may choose whether or not to have the
rating map enabled for a given image.
In some embodiments, vendors (or algorithms) may be permitted to
mark components available for rating. For example, the vendor or an
image recognition algorithm may be used to analyze images of an
item. The vendor or image recognition algorithm may select only one
or a subset of images related to an item from a larger collection
of images to enable the item to be displayed in the image from
desirable perspectives. The rating map areas have 1:1 mapping with
the component of the underlying item.
In some embodiments, the items are displayed in three dimensions in
order to enable a buyer to navigate the item in 3D space using a
mouse and keyboard to see which components of the item were rated
favorably or negatively.
The examples discussed above are generally in the context of
electromechanical tangible products. However, it is understood that
the methods and systems described herein may be used with numerous
other items, whether tangible or intangible. As an example,
embodiment may be implemented to view and enter review content in
connection with digital products. The digital product may be broken
into corresponding non-physical components where visual
representations are illustrated for each of the nonphysical
components. For example, icons may be presented for each
nonphysical component.
As an example, music may be visualized through a standardized
chart, where a line represents the time axis. The user may select a
"component" of interest (corresponding to a segment or audio clip
from the song). The user may enter review content in connection
with the audio segment and/or review pre-existing review content
associated there with. As another example, movies may be visualized
through a standardized chart, where a line represents the time
axis. The user may select segments or video clips from the movie as
"a component" of interest. The user may then enter review content
in connection with the video segment and/or review pre-existing
review content associated therewith. The user may use the review
content when searching for digital goods, such as games, songs or
music. For example, the user may desire to only view games, songs
or music, for which no segment has a rating of less than three
stars.
In accordance with at least one embodiment herein, to the extent
that mobile devices are discussed herein, it should be understood
that they can represent a very wide range of devices, applicable to
a very wide range of settings. Thus, by way of illustrative and
non-restrictive examples, such devices and/or settings can include
mobile telephones, tablet computers, and other portable computers
such as portable laptop computers. As will be appreciated by one
skilled in the art, various aspects may be embodied as a system,
method or computer (device) program product. Accordingly, aspects
may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment or an
embodiment including hardware and software that may all generally
be referred to herein as a "circuit," "module" or "system."
Furthermore, aspects may take the form of a computer (device)
program product embodied in one or more computer (device) readable
storage medium(s) having computer (device) readable program code
embodied thereon.
Any combination of one or more non-signal computer (device)
readable medium(s) may be utilized. The non-signal medium may be a
storage medium. A storage medium may be, for example, an
electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or
semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable
combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of a storage
medium would include the following: a portable computer diskette, a
hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a dynamic random access
memory (DRAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable
read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a portable compact disc
read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic
storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.
Program code embodied on a storage medium may be transmitted using
any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,
wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, et cetera, or any suitable
combination of the foregoing.
Program code for carrying out operations may be written in any
combination of one or more programming languages. The program code
may execute entirely on a single device, partly on a single device,
as a stand-alone software package, partly on single device and
partly on another device, or entirely on the other device. In some
cases, the devices may be connected through any type of network,
including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN),
or the connection may be made through other devices (for example,
through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider) or through
a hard wire connection, such as over a USB connection. For example,
a server having a first processor, a network interface, and a
storage device for storing code may store the program code for
carrying out the operations and provide this code through its
network interface via a network to a second device having a second
processor for execution of the code on the second device.
Aspects are described herein with reference to the figures, which
illustrate example methods, devices and program products according
to various example embodiments. These program instructions may be
provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special
purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device or
information handling device to produce a machine, such that the
instructions, which execute via a processor of the device implement
the functions/acts specified.
The program instructions may also be stored in a device readable
medium that can direct a device to function in a particular manner,
such that the instructions stored in the device readable medium
produce an article of manufacture including instructions which
implement the function/act specified. The program instructions may
also be loaded onto a device to cause a series of operational steps
to be performed on the device to produce a device implemented
process such that the instructions which execute on the device
provide processes for implementing the functions/acts
specified.
Although illustrative example embodiments have been described
herein with reference to the accompanying figures, it is to be
understood that this description is not limiting and that various
other changes and modifications may be affected therein by one
skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of
the disclosure.
The modules/applications herein may include any processor-based or
microprocessor-based system including systems using
microcontrollers, reduced instruction set computers (RISC),
application specific integrated circuits (ASICs),
field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), logic circuits, and any
other circuit or processor capable of executing the functions
described herein. Additionally or alternatively, the
modules/controllers herein may represent circuit modules that may
be implemented as hardware with associated instructions (for
example, software stored on a tangible and non-transitory computer
readable storage medium, such as a computer hard drive, ROM, RAM,
or the like) that perform the operations described herein. The
above examples are exemplary only, and are thus not intended to
limit in any way the definition and/or meaning of the term
"controller." The modules/applications herein may execute a set of
instructions that are stored in one or more storage elements, in
order to process data. The storage elements may also store data or
other information as desired or needed. The storage element may be
in the form of an information source or a physical memory element
within the modules/controllers herein. The set of instructions may
include various commands that instruct the modules/applications
herein to perform specific operations such as the methods and
processes of the various embodiments of the subject matter
described herein. The set of instructions may be in the form of a
software program. The software may be in various forms such as
system software or application software. Further, the software may
be in the form of a collection of separate programs or modules, a
program module within a larger program or a portion of a program
module. The software also may include modular programming in the
form of object-oriented programming. The processing of input data
by the processing machine may be in response to user commands, or
in response to results of previous processing, or in response to a
request made by another processing machine.
It is to be understood that the subject matter described herein is
not limited in its application to the details of construction and
the arrangement of components set forth in the description herein
or illustrated in the drawings hereof. The subject matter described
herein is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of
being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood
that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose
of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of
"including," "comprising," or "having" and variations thereof
herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and
equivalents thereof as well as additional items.
It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be
illustrative, and not restrictive. For example, the above-described
embodiments (and/or aspects thereof) may be used in combination
with each other. In addition, many modifications may be made to
adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings herein
without departing from its scope. While the dimensions, types of
materials and coatings described herein are intended to define
various parameters, they are by no means limiting and are
illustrative in nature. Many other embodiments will be apparent to
those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. The
scope of the embodiments should, therefore, be determined with
reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of
equivalents to which such claims are entitled. In the appended
claims, the terms "including" and "in which" are used as the
plain-English equivalents of the respective terms "comprising" and
"wherein." Moreover, in the following claims, the terms "first,"
"second," and "third," etc. are used merely as labels, and are not
intended to impose numerical requirements on their objects or order
of execution on their acts.
* * * * *